Sunday, March 20, 2005

The first and last musical?

I turn my head. I do not take the early rounds seriously enough. I have obligations that keep me away from the television, but I console myself knowing that I will start watching the games in the regional semifinals… And, for the second year in a row, I have missed my opportunity to see Gonzaga play in the tournament. Somehow losing to a Bob Knight coached team does not feel as bad as the loss last year to Nevada felt, or it feels worse. I am not sure yet.

Maybe the Bulldogs are catching up on the karma they spent in their NCAA appearances several years ago. Then they were low ranking early round fodder who made it deep into the tournament two years in a row. Maybe they are just being made hungry enough to make it to the Final Four in the next year or two. In any case, the school is being taught humility. I always worry that sudden organization success like the ‘Zags have experienced leaves the team taking their success for granted, and making it dificult for them to push through to the end.

It’s always a bit strange to me, but I feel more affinity for Gonzaga in Spokane than I do with the University of Washington Huskies in Seattle. Even though I only spent two and a half quarters at Seattle University, it will always be my school in my heart and it was a Jesuit school, just like Gonzaga. Though we really didn’t think of ourselves as sister schools or anything like that, I still feel something of a connection when Gonzaga plays. Probably because Seattle University’s basketball program was something of an afterthought in the general scheme of the school.

So, I suppose I can get behind the Huskies if they continue deep into the tournament, they are from my hometown after all, but my team is out. Too early, too early…

Anyway, this is a double post for both the Rubble and the Democracy blogs. Mostly just an update on my recent silence. Came out of the six weeks of illness and injury to dive into the two weeks of frantically getting caught up in my schoolwork. I think I did well. If anything, I may have overcompensated and babbled on for too long in my history and lit essays, but we’ll see. I feel that I did my best, though, so that is what counts. I am confident that I would have pulled a four point if it was not the quarter of constant illness and injury, but I will be happy with whatever grades I receive this quarter.

The world still moves on. My son’s school musical was last week, and they put on a show much more impressive that anything I can remember from my elementary school days. My aunt was there, who is a recently retired elementary school teacher herself, and she was very impressed with the scale of the show.

This week we received a letter essentially asking us to vote on which school program to eliminate next year. Music, PE, or the Librarian.

Can we have a tax revolt where we force them to take more of our money? Or at least to spend more of the money they take on schools? Coupled with this, it was either Intel or Nike, the Tweedle Dee and Dum of the local economy, who was whining about needing more tax breaks last week, too.

I tell them what. If they donate money to my son’s music program, I will lobby for their tax cuts.